Sheaffer and Manning advance to D-3AAA tournament

It's on to Hershey -- and stage II of the postseason -- for 11 Perry County wrestlers.

On Feb. 20, at Susquenita, three Newport wrestlers and six Blackhawks successfully navigated the treacherous brackets of the Section III-AA tournament by claiming one of four available slots into the District 3-AA tournament to be held at Hersheypark Arena Feb. 26-27.

The same day, at Mechanicsburg for the Section I-AAA tourney, two West Perry wrestlers, Chaz Sheaffer, who won the 189-pound title, and Bobby Manning, the runner-up at 135 pounds, also qualified for districts.

"We had a good day," said Mustang coach Roger Austin. "Any year we can get two into the section finals, we've had a good year.'

Sheaffer rolled to his third section finals with a 12-7 decision in the first round and a 9-3 decision in the semifinals. Unlike the previous two years, Sheaffer was able to complete his project. With a 4-3 win over Bryton Barr of Mechanicsburg, the senior became the eighth Mustang to pick up section gold.

"Chaz scored off a dominant single leg takedown. That was huge," Austin explained. "In postseason wrestling, sometimes (you get that first takedown), it's over.'

Sheaffer escaped to go up 3-0 in the second, but Barr, on what Austin described as, "a weird scramble at the edge of the mat," collected a takedown to get within 3-2.

"Chaz was in a little trouble and, rather than put himself in a worse position, gave up the takedown," Austin said. "He escaped at the end of the period, which was huge.'

Sheaffer cut Barr loose in the third, avoided the sophomore's bid for more points and held on for his gold medal.

"Chaz was always in control. He wrestled smart," Austin said. "That's the result of all the postseason mat time he's had. Now, the (gold medal) monkey's off his back.'

Sheaffer ran his career-wins total to 111, tying Zach Kell atop the all-time program chart. At 29-1 he's one win from joining the exclusive 30-win club. He'll start his bid for a second trip to the state tournament with a match against David Kennedy (32-8), a senior from Elizabethtown who finished third at the Section III-AAA tournament.

Manning, who won a section bronze as a sophomore, moved one step up on the medal platform by pinning in the first round and beating Mitchell Ramsey of Mechanicsburg 7-5 in the semis. In the finals he ran into Shawn Greevey, the Cumberland Valley senior who medaled at states last year. Greevey won by fall in the third period.

"Bobby had a great tournament," Austin said. "Greevey is the biggest 135-pounder I've ever seen. Bobby wrestled him well. He scored on him with a reversal. Greevey just caught him towards the end. If Bobby can finish second the next two weeks, that would be fine.'

Manning, now 27-4 with 74 career wins, went 0-2 at districts last year. He'll face E-town sophomore Troy Earnest (32-11) in the first round. Manning and Earnest have two common opponents. Earnest majored Nate Look of Mechanicsburg, who Manning pinned. The Mustang also has two decisions over Ramsey, 5-2 and 7-5. Earnest beat Ramsey 9-3.

Austin also pointed to performances by underclassmen Robbie Webber, Trevor Johnson, Ethan Turner and John Adams as highlights. Webber went 0-2, but dropped one of his bouts in overtime. Johnson, Turner and Adams each came away with a win.

"Robbie, Trevor, Ethan and John were outstanding," Austin said. "They, and the rest of the underclassmen, got a lot out of competing here. That's all you can ask.'